The Amber Amulet
by PiRounded
Summary: A man, filled with loss and sorrow, a young dragonet, searching endlessly for her mother, A survivor of a massive tragedy, carrying all the guilt that comes with it, and a lost boy in the desert, chosen, to make it all right. (T, because Wings of Fire)
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. (Even if I did, why would I post this on Fan Fiction?)**

 **Other Disclaimer: This series contains a headcanon of mine which involves The Scorching and the events taken place before it.**

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The color blue filled Mike's vision entirely, leaving no room for anything else. He would have looked around, if his limbs weren't flailing around as he spun uncontrollably through the strange environment he was in. He felt as if he was going in a certain direction, but the direction seemed to shift constantly.

He didn't know if he was there for moments or minutes, but very suddenly found himself being deposited onto a hard floor. The texture of the floor was rough and uneven, stone, if Mike had to guess. He felt around with his hands, exploring the area by feeling it. Soon his hands came in contact with a wall. Using the wall as support, Mike tried to stand up, but he was still disoriented, and when he was nearly upright, the ground came to meet him.

* * *

Instead of gradually waking up as you would on weekends, Mike became gradually less unconscious. At first, he didn't know who he was, where he came from or where he was, but soon those questions were answered in turn. He remembered that his name was Michael Tanner, but his friends and family calls him Mike, that he lives in North America, more specifically Colorado, but the answer to the third question was yet to be explored.

Mike opened his eyes and was met with a field of light. He blinked a few times and the bright light slowly faded into a vast _desert?_ He blinked a few more times but could not deny the view that was in front of him. He was so caught up in the landscape that he nearly didn't notice the mouth of the cave he was laying in. He stood up, dusted himself off and examined his surroundings. He was indeed standing in the mouth of a small cave in a vast desert.

Mike's head was full of questions, but with no-one in sight to answer them, he tried to answer them himself. The most obvious one was, _where was he?_ That question was utterly hopeless, with no landmarks for identification and no people to ask, it was safe to say that he had no idea where he was, _comforting._

The second was slightly less hopeless, _slightly,_ he remembered the blue area, but his last memory before the incident was him simply going to bed, as if someone had abducted him in his sleep. He decided that that didn't make sense, after all, he was wearing his typical clothes, a red T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers and a green beanie, unless his abductor bothered to dress him in his sleep, it didn't make sense. He tried to answer the question in other way perhaps he had lost his memories, but that still didn't explain why he was in the middle of nowhere in the first place.

He was so tied up with the second question he nearly forgot his final question, _was his family looking for him?_ The answer was most certainly, yes. Perhaps he had been abducted in the night, or had run off in some wild vacation in the Sahara Desert and hit his head, either way, his family was most likely will search to the end of the Earth for him.

Mike was at a loss of what to do, it was early afternoon and it was clear that nothing would happen if he just had waited around and Mike decided that the only way to get out of this of this place was to enter the desert, hoping to find some people. As Mike set off right of the afternoon sun, north, and left the cave behind him, he felt a sense of adventure, but also remorse, as he was leaving the one place he felt connected to. It was a shame too, if he had stayed around longer and examined the walls, he would have noticed a small circular indent in the back wall, about an inch in diameter.

* * *

A figure, longer than it was tall, was hunched over what appeared a crystal ball. The figure gazed into it with bright, white eyes. The crystal ball depicted a young teenager, no older than fourteen, walking away from a cave opening.

 _"Good,"_ the figure said in a language unknown to most humans, _"The journey has begun."_

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I guess that concludes my first ever chapter on . I hope to continue this series more in the future and improve my own writing skills; Even if I didn't manage to break 1k words.**

 **P.S.**

 **Can caves form like that naturally in the desert? I doubt it.**


	2. Part One: Lost and Found

**Thank you all for NOT hating my story! I can't believe it's been about a week and no hate reviews. Anyway, apparently when writing stories you have to ask people to give their feedback, constructive criticism or praise or else they won't give you any. So please give feedback, all constructive criticism is welcome and a bit of praise isn't unwelcome, but only if its genuine!**

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Mike liked sand, it wasn't that he loved all the nice things about sand, he just didn't mind that it got everywhere. It was a bit like stew, once you ignore all the unpleasant things about it, it was quite nice, but just like stew, if you have to walk in it for hours, you get gradually less tolerant of it.

Mike was miserable, his sandy hair was becoming sandy, he was dehydrated, tired and most likely the left side of his head and left arm was already sun burnt. He could barely see straight after long without rest. He remembered a book he had once read, where a group of siblings decided to travel at night instead of day while crossing a large savannah. He briefly considered it for a while before remembering that his only means of navigation was the sun, and that meant traveling by day. It wasn't long before the sun finally set, although to Mike it felt like eternity. Even after the red sun dipped below the horizon, Mike kept going, keeping the orange haze in the sky on his left, hoping to get as much distance as he could before the sky went completely dark.

Eventually Mike layed down on the crest of a sand dune, careful to keep his weight on his right side, remembering that soon the morning sun will come up to his right, making sure that his right side was as just as sun burnt as the other. As he lay down thinking about this, he looked up into the inky, black sky and saw not one, but _two_ moons! He looked around some more and saw a third one hovering in the sky nearby.

"So I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore." His voice was hoarse from thirst, reminding him that he couldn't wander the desert forever and that he needed to find water soon.

He began to theorize about the presence of the extra two moons. But could only think up two rational explanations for it. One, he was on another planet that happened to have three moons. Two, he was in another dimension, on a planet that happened to have three moons. Neither one held favorable chances for escape on his own. But then something clicked in his mind. It was too unlikely that he had been taken off of his planet, traveled _light years_ , being deposited on a planet with breathable air, being deposited on a planet at all, just to end up in a cave in the middle of nowhere! It was absurd to think that this happened on accident, even more crazy to go with explanation two. All this was too much for Mike to handle, he went to sleep with his head still buzzing.

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A sand colored dragon flew towards the ground in a rush, only bothering to move its wings in a heavy flap when it was nearly on the snow covered ground, slowing it down. The freshly packed snow made a crunching sound its talons as it landed. The dragon surveyed the area around it spotting a log cabin nearby, the dragon curled its barbed tail, no longer needing it for flight and headed off towards the wooden hut. It wasn't before long did the Sandwing reach the doorway of the small hut, took a deep breath, and knocked three times. The glistening, white dragon that opened the door was much larger, obviously mature, while the other dragon was only a dragonet. The Icewing glared at the newcomer, the silence only broken when the Sandwing spoke in a feminine voice.

"Frostbite, it's me, i'm here to talk about my mother."

"Dust?" the Icewing asked, "Is that you? You've grown so much since I saw you last."

"Can we talk inside?" The Sandwing requested.

"Of course, pet." Frostbite said, "Please come inside, I'll get you nice and warm."

They were silent as Frostbite gathered logs from corner of the wood cabin and started to make a fire. The logs were dry and would catch easily, especially when piled into the brick chimney. Frostbite was just about to light it, when she realised she had no means of doing so. She was about to ask Dust for help, but before she could, Dust blew a plume of fire into the chimney, setting the woodpile ablaze instantly.

"So, you came to learn about your mother" Frostbite started, "Of course I heard that she went missing, I can only imagine what you might be going through right now."

"I heard that you were friends with my mother" Dust explained, "I'd like to talk to you about her and hopefully find her someday"

Frostbite remained silent.

"She was on one of her expeditions when she disappeared," Dust continued, "If you could tell me what she was researching at the time, I might be able to retrace her path and find her."

"Pet, I have no idea what your mother was working on," Frostbite explained, "She only visited when she was in the area and never long enough to tell me about her work"

"Oh," Dust said, visibly disappointed.

Frostbite, not wanting her friend's daughter to be let-down blurted, "Wait!" before Dust could leave, "Your mother didn't say much, but what she did say was that she did most of her research with a dragon called Cactus."

"Really?!" Dust exclaimed, "Do you know where he is?"

"Unfortunately, no" Frostbite said, "But I do know someone who might know where he is, so get some paper and charcoal.

* * *

 **Author's note**

 **This concludes my second chapter, I've tried to make it longer this time and I put in some dialogue. Like I said earlier, I need to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.**

 **Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

Mike wearily woke up and observed the landscape around him. Just as he expected, it was sand, sand dunes and sand covered sand dunes as far as the eye could see. Apparently nothing had changed, dashing away the sliver of hope that perhaps his entire situation had been a mere dream. He stood up and stretched, wincing from the pain due to his stiff neck. Mike made a mental note not to turn his head too far to his left until further notice. Then he brushed the sand out of his sandy _colored_ hair, shook his clothes free of sand and emptied his shoes of sand. Mike began to realise why so many people didn't like sand because it was rough, coarse and irritating, and that it gets everywhere.

Mike, wide awake, found the position of the sun, rotated to where the sun was at his right, and set off. Mike expected for today's _hike_ to be as uneventful as yesterday's, everything so far had enforced this. After all, barely anything had visibly changed, the dunes all still looked the same, the sky was a vast expanse of blue, but appeared paler in the morning sun, and the clouds were as boring and monotonous as ever. Mike observed the clouds closer, they appeared straighter and more light.

" _It must be the morning light."_ Mike thought to himself.

Suffice to say, Mike was a little more than unprepared for his first sandstorm a few hours later.

It started without warning, the tiny grains of sand battered his sunburned skin forcing him to dive for cover behind one of a dunes. He placed his hands over his head and buried his face in the sand. It only went on for about a minute and a half, but that was enough for Mike. After the sandstorm had passed Mike brushed the sand off of his face and emptied his shoes for the sixth time. Bored out of his wits, Mike began to make a list of all the things (In no particular order) that he hated.

Sand,

Deserts,

Sandstorms,

Emptying his shoes for the seventh time,

Sunburns,

The sun,

Deserts,

Dry throats,

Deserts,

BORING STUFF.

The last one was probably the worst. Mike knew that focusing on all of the bad things would just make it seem worse all of the time. But Mike was lost in a desert for nearly 24 hours; he had a right to be grumpy. As for the monotony, it was broken by two things. The displeasurable sandstorms, and when he occasionally deviated from his original route to scope out the area; but even that was beginning to feel like a chore. Mike clambered onto the tallest sand dune around and then emptied his shoes.

Mike thought he saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to the left, realised his mistake well after making it, and carefully rotated his body to the left to get a better look. Mike gazed into the area of suspicion and craned his neck to see better. Mike could barely trust his eyes, in the distance, Mike could have sworn he saw a speck of green. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, and there was no doubt about it, something green was behind one of the dunes. Mike dashed down the massive sand dune at top speed, only slowing down when he found himself at the incline of the next one. And that was how it was for a few minutes, Mike was on a one track mind, the distance between himself and the green thing shortening every second. After a while, the green thing slowly revealed itself to be the top of a palm tree. Then, the outline of grey boulders appeared, followed by the main attraction, water. This, Mike realised, was an oasis.

The oasis was about as large three times as large as Mike's own backyard, the water in it was clear and the palm trees provided more than enough shade. But the shade could wait as Mike rushed towards the oasis, slipped on some mud and face planted into the shallow water. Mike could be found a few minutes later sunbathing on a rock, his hair and his clothes caked with mud. He happened to see something floating in the water and his hand immediately went to feel his head. Apparently, when Mike slipped and fell into the water his beanie fell off. Mike waded into the water, scooped up his hat, wrung it out, waded back to his sunbathing rock and placed it on the rock. After another few minutes had passed, Mike observed his clothes; his beanie was filthy, a few minutes in murky water would do that, his other clothes, however, were only muddy down the front but his shoes were covered in it. About a half an hour later mike had enough sunbathing and was instead sitting in the shade when he saw figures in the distance. As they got closer they were revealed to be about half a dozen men or more on horseback. Mike was dumbfounded, there were people, actual people in this forsaken desert. Mike didn't know weather run up and greet them, or hide and observe then from a distance.

Neither, Mike did neither. In a deadlock for options, Mike just sat there awkwardly, leaning against a tree. They came closer still and Mike could count seven individual men riding on camels, not horses they wore brown colored clothes, reminding Mike of The Medieval Times. Mike briefly worried that his own clothes might seem odd to them, but then he realised that because they were so filthy, they looked brown to the casual observer. Eventually, they arrived at the oasis and by then they must have seen Mike. They dismounted their camels and strode over to where Mike was sitting. Mike didn't know what to say, but he decided that it was more polite to stand up when the strangers approached. The one that was in the lead questioned him directly, but not unkindly.

"Who are you and how'd you get here?"

It was a simple question, but one Mike was prepared for. While the strangers approached, Mike had thought up the perfect answer to it, not to brag.

"My name's Michael," Mike stated plainly "and I don't remember anything else."

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 **Author's Note**

 **I debated whether to continue the story past this or end here; I, in the end decided to end it here because it is a good spot to do so.**

 **Now that Mike's actually meeting people, you can expect more dialogue in the near future.**

 **Mike's hair is actually sandy colored. I wasn't being repetitive, only unclear, my fault, not yours.**

 **I've decided to stop begging for praise, I'm above that, I must earn it instead.**

 **Remember, feedback is appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Thank you.**


	4. Chapter 4

False amnesia was, in Mike's book, a master stroke. Because of it he could go by without explaining how he got there and ask anything about this world's culture without looking raising suspicion. The man that asked the question looked taken aback, clearly he didn't expect such an answer. The man gathered his party around him and started discussing Mike animatedly. It only took a few minutes, but to Mike, that was long enough; he liked to be the center of attention sometimes, just not when seven grown men were in control of his fate. Eventually, the same man from earlier approached again; he had an average height and build, with dark hair and soft, kind eyes. He wore clothes made of a dull, brown cloth, crude, leather shoes and a hood that Mike could kill for. He leaned on a tree across from Mike and began talking

"Me and the lads have been talking and we've decided that we couldn't really call ourselves people if we left you all stranded in the desert alone," Mike liked where this was going.

"So we decided to take you with us until we reach the next town at least," he paused,

"And that's where we're divided, some of us say that we should drop you off at the local orphanage or foster home or whatever." he paused again to let the readers digest his information in small chunks,

"Others say that perhaps you could join us in case we don't find someone knows you, so you could travel across the area to nearby towns and hopefully find someone you recognize along the way."

"Th-thank you." Mike felt ashamed and cheated that he could only use two words to express his gratitude.

"First of all, you may call me Roy, me and my companions are travelling merchants," Roy explained, "We sell clothes to the various towns around the desert, and speaking of which," Roy turned to face the group of men leading the camels to drink.

" _Hey Frederick!"_ Roy shouted.

" _What?"_ Frederick, a tall, thin man with blond hair shouted back.

" _Could you pass us a cloak?"_

" _Sure."_

Frederick reached into one of the baskets that hung over the camel's back and pulled out a lump of light brown cloth and tossed it towards the pair of them. Mike caught it as it unraveled into a cloak or hood that the other men wore. It wasn't fancy or glamorous, but it had character and most importantly, kept off the sun. Mike put in on, glad that no killing was involved.

" _This is going to be docked off your pay, right?"_ Frederick asked.

" _No, and because you asked, it'll be off_ your _pay."_ Roy yelled.

"I'm not _really_ going to do that." he whispered.

Roy explained that whenever he and his group come through this way, they stop off at the oasis and set up camp. Apparently this time they arrived a few hours earlier than they expected.

"But I still have a few questions," Roy said.

Mike wasn't surprised, he made answering questions much easier, but not unavoidable.

"First of all, how long were you out in the desert?" Roy asked.

"A day, at least." Mike answered.

"I see, and are you sure you don't remember anything?"

"Nope, nothing, sorry,"

"Don't apologise, it's not your fault." Roy reassured, "And finally, are you against helping set up camp?"

From that point on it was like Mike was part of the group. He helped unload the camels and pitch the tents. Once the seventh and final tent was up, he asked the closest person, Frederick where he was going to sleep.

"Robert, Jeff and Nick are practically inseparable," Frederick explained, "One of them would likely share a tent with another and leave one free to you."

"Oh, cool."

Afterwards, Frederick helped Roy gather people for dinner. Mike didn't realize how hungry he was until then; water took priority over food when he was lost, and he was distracted ever since he met the traveling merchants. After everyone was seated in a circle on the ground, Roy began passing out the food. The meal was no feast, Roy took slices of bread and meat out of a bag and passed them around to the other men. Another man, across from Mike, took out a lump of cheese and a knife, and began passing out slices of cheese too. Mike noticed that many of the men made sandwiches with the food that they got and Mike did the same. I goes without saying that Mike got many seconds.

After dinner, Mike noticed that all of the men had some kind of weapon at their belt, whether it be a standard sword, a knife or a short curved blade that Frederick had. He was curious, so he asked about them.

Timothy, a dark skinned man was the one that answered his question. " There are some…" He struggled to find a word " -broken people, that will attack any one who they think could have some money or food"

"But they're nothing compared to dragons," Nick added

Mike did a double take. His immediate response was to believe that either Nick or his entire group was insane, but he decided to hold out for a while, because, for all he knew, he was on a whole other planet. Who knew, maybe this place _did_ have dragons.

Roy took note of Mike's confused expression. "Dragons kid, dragons," he explained. "Have you ever seen one?"

Mike was about to say no before he caught himself. "Uh, if I did, I wouldn't know"

Roy replied kindly, "of course you don't."

Frederick, sensing a time to be useful, piped up. "Robert has a book about dragons."

Everyone looked at Robert. "I gave it to Nick yesterday," he said.

Nick checked a sort of bag that served as a place to store his belongings, "I don't have it," he explained, "but if I did have it, I would have given it to Jeff".

Jeff checked _his_ belongings, "I don't have it"

"What do you mean, you don't have it?"

"By, I don't have it, I mean, _I don't have it._ "

"How about you check again?"

"What are you calling me? Blind?"

This argument might have gone on for significantly longer if Robert hadn't spoken. "Guys, you won't believe what." Everyone diverted their attention from Nick and Jeff to see Robert holding a leather bound book. Robert passed the book to Mike.

Mike didn't know a lot about books, but the one in his hands looked old. The title was slightly faded and the edges were worn. " _A Traveler's Guide to Dragons_ ," He read out loud, " _Written by Matthew Seer, revised and updated by Simon Flynn._ "

"You can read that later," Rob said, "for now, let's get ready for bed."

That night, Mike was inside Nick's tent, he was on a kind of old fashioned sleeping bag filled with straw. He was glad that he didn't have to sleep outside in the numbing cold. He knew that it would still be somewhat cold, but it was better than opened up _The traveler's Guide to Dragons_ and began to read under the light of an oil lamp Jeff had shown him how to use.

 _At the moment of writing this book there have been five confirmed different types of dragon._ Mike would have immediately felt tired by the boring opening, if it wasn't about dragons. _These dragons will be rated by how dangerous they are. The rating is based on how many available means it has to kill you; keep in mind that even if it has a low danger rating doesn't mean that it can't kill you, all dragons are lethal._

On the next page there was an illustration of a pretty standard looking dragon, it had red scales and had the appearance of a dragon (You probably know what a Sky Wing looks like).

 _Common name: Mountain Dragons_

 _These are the most basic dragon and are probably the first thing someone would think of if the topic of dragons come up. They have distinctive red or orange scales with large wings._

 _Habitat: Mountain ranges_

 _Known to breath fire: Yes_

 _Other abilities: No_

 _Danger rating: Moderate_

On the next page there was a dragon with brown scales and that appeared "buffer" than the mountain dragon.

 _Common name: Marsh Dragons_

 _These dragons commonly have brown scales and have more muscle mass than than mountain dragons. They have been compared to crocodiles._

 _Habitat: Wetlands_

 _Known to breath fire: Yes_

 _Other abilities: Due to their similar appearance to crocodiles, many have theorized that they may have similar abilities, such as being able to hold their breath for two hours._

 _Danger rating: Moderate_

On the following page there was an illustration of a dragon with blue scales and strange markings.

 _Common name: Ocean Dragons_

 _These dragons have blue or green scales with luminescent marking all around its body. These markings have been seen to turn on on demand, and are probably used for finding mates._

 _Habitat: Oceans and Seas_

 _Known to breath fire: No_

 _Other abilities: These dragon have been seen with gills, which most certainly means that they can breath underwater._

 _Danger rating: Low_

The next page really caught Mike's attention.

 _Common names: Desert Dragons / Scorpion Dragons_

 _These Dragons have pale yellow scales, black eyes and a barbed tail. These dragons are so commonly compared to scorpions that they have gained a second name due to it._

 _Habitat: Deserts_

 _Known to breath fire: Yes_

 _Other abilities: Although an ordinary scorpion's is usually non-fatal no human has been known to survive this dragon's sting._

 _Danger rating: High_

On the next page- you know the rest.

 _Common name: Snow Dragons_

 _These dragons are probably the most exotic. They have been seen with pale white scales to icy blue._

 _Habitat: The Arctic North_

 _Known to breath fire: No_

 _Other abilities: With a big middle finger to natural selection, these dragons have developed a sort of alternative to fire breath, in which the dragon breathes icy wind at its opponent. Why? You may ask. Probably because it looks cool._

 _Danger rating: Moderate_

On the last page there was no summary or whatever. Instead there was a very vague sketch of a very colorful dragon.

 _Although this hasn't been confirmed, there have been many sightings of a strange dragon in the rainforest, all of them depicting it as colorful and slender. Most people may write it off as just dehydrated people going crazy in the rainforest, but the sightings are too numerous and consistent to just ignore._

With that, Mike closed the book, it was barely more than a pamphlet really, blew out the oil lamp and rested his head on his bunched up cloak acting as a pillow, and fell asleep with his head heavy with information.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Sorry for the long wait in between chapters. I've had about half of this chapter written for a few months now, so I really don't have much of an excuse. But It's alive either way.**

 **Feedback is appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


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